Top 10 cars, SUVs sold in August 2017 in India; Maruti Suzuki Dzire overtakes Alto

Despite the talks of Goods and Service Tax (GST) during the first quarter of 2017 despite s saw the domestic sales of passenger cars and SUV growing by over 7 per cent as compared to the first quarter of 2016. Two-Wheeler sales too reported just short of double digit growth by reporting a 9.24 per cent growth in the domestic Indian market. The growth trend for both passenger vehicles (PVs) and two wheelers continued to grow in the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal year and August 2017 saw the PV industry selling 294,335 units almost 12 per cent more than the sales in August 2016 (258,737). Scooter sales dominated the two-wheeler industry that sold a total of 18,91,062 units last month by registering a 14.69% growth. New launches have done the trick for car makers in India. Maruti Suzuki Dzire that was recently introduced in the market became the most sold car in the month of August. Jeep Compass gave some good boost to Fiat Chrysler’s sales in India and SUVs like Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Hyundai Creta continues to give good numbers to its respective manufacturers.

Top-10 cars/SUVs sold in India:

Maruti Suzuki Dzire that made its market debut in May 2017 has ranked up to the top spot in the domestic market by selling 26,140 units last month. The new sub-compact sedan over took its younger sibling Maruti Suzuki Alto who have enjoyed the top-position for years now. Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 21,521 units of Alto. Hot hatch, Maruti Suzuki Baleno has allured buyers with its premium features and has been the most successful model of the cars sold through the Nexa channel. Maruti Suzuki Baleno took the third spot in sales-chart and saw total sales of 17,190 units as against 8,671 units sold in August 2016. The top utility vehicle (UV) sold last month was the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the SUV bags the fourth rank in the overall passenger vehicle ranking. Vitara Brezza saw a monthly sales of 14,396 units.

Source: SIAM

Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Maruti Suzuki Swift saw a decline in sales and a drop in its ranking from a year earlier. The two car are now ranked at fifth and sixth place by selling 13,907 and 12,631 units respectively. With the new generation Maruti Suzuki Swift coming out next year we expect the company to slowly and steadily wind up the production of the current Swift to make way for the new one. 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift will be unveiled in India for the first time at the 2018 Auto Expo scheduled in February 2018. Hyundai Motor India who commands over 17% market share in the Indian domestic market had a good run last month. Hyundai Grand i10 saw monthly sales of 12,306 units and 11,832 units of Hyundai Elite i20 were sold last last month. Hyundai Creta SUV too saw a sales of 10,158 units and it will be interesting to see how the market reacts the sales of Creta post the launch of 2017 Maruti Suzuki S-Cross and the Renault Captur. Maruti Suzuki Celerio also made it to the top-10 selling vehicles by selling 9,210 units.

Also read: Renault Captur Vs Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Vs Hyundai Creta

Sales of Tata Tiago inched closer to its rival Renault Kwid. Tata Tiago and Renault Kwid sold a total of 7,802 units and 7,036 units respectively. In the UV space Mahindra Bolero took the third space behind Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Hyundai Creta followed by Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Toyota innova Crysta. We expect the Ford Ecosport to debut back in the top 5 UVs sold in the country with the launch of its facelift this year. 2017 Ford Ecosport is expected to debut in India either in late next month or early November. Tata Nexon also is strong contender to break into top five selling UVs.

Given the festive discounts and new product launches, we expect the sales of passenger vehicles in the second quarter of the ongoing financial year to grow at about 8-10%.